git-diff(1)
===========
NAME
----
git-diff - Show changes between commits, commit and working tree, etc
SYNOPSIS
--------
[verse]
'git diff' [options] [] [--] [...]
'git diff' [options] --cached [] [--] [...]
'git diff' [options] [--] [...]
'git diff' [options] [--no-index] [--]
DESCRIPTION
-----------
Show changes between the working tree and the index or a tree, changes
between the index and a tree, changes between two trees, or changes
between two files on disk.
'git diff' [--options] [--] [...]::
This form is to view the changes you made relative to
the index (staging area for the next commit). In other
words, the differences are what you _could_ tell git to
further add to the index but you still haven't. You can
stage these changes by using linkgit:git-add[1].
+
If exactly two paths are given and at least one points outside
the current repository, 'git diff' will compare the two files /
directories. This behavior can be forced by --no-index.
'git diff' [--options] --cached [] [--] [...]::
This form is to view the changes you staged for the next
commit relative to the named . Typically you
would want comparison with the latest commit, so if you
do not give , it defaults to HEAD.
If HEAD does not exist (e.g. unborned branches) and
is not given, it shows all staged changes.
--staged is a synonym of --cached.
'git diff' [--options] [--] [...]::
This form is to view the changes you have in your
working tree relative to the named . You can
use HEAD to compare it with the latest commit, or a
branch name to compare with the tip of a different
branch.
'git diff' [--options] [--] [...]::
This is to view the changes between two arbitrary
.
'git diff' [--options] .. [--] [...]::
This is synonymous to the previous form. If on
one side is omitted, it will have the same effect as
using HEAD instead.
'git diff' [--options] \... [--] [...]::
This form is to view the changes on the branch containing
and up to the second , starting at a common ancestor
of both . "git diff A\...B" is equivalent to
"git diff $(git-merge-base A B) B". You can omit any one
of , which has the same effect as using HEAD instead.
Just in case if you are doing something exotic, it should be
noted that all of the in the above description, except
in the last two forms that use ".." notations, can be any
. The third form ('git diff ') can also
be used to compare two objects.
For a more complete list of ways to spell , see
"SPECIFYING REVISIONS" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7].
However, "diff" is about comparing two _endpoints_, not ranges,
and the range notations (".." and
"\...") do not mean a range as defined in the
"SPECIFYING RANGES" section in linkgit:gitrevisions[7].
OPTIONS
-------
:git-diff: 1
include::diff-options.txt[]
...::
The parameters, when given, are used to limit
the diff to the named paths (you can give directory
names and get diff for all files under them).
include::diff-format.txt[]
EXAMPLES
--------
Various ways to check your working tree::
+
------------
$ git diff <1>
$ git diff --cached <2>
$ git diff HEAD <3>
------------
+
<1> Changes in the working tree not yet staged for the next commit.
<2> Changes between the index and your last commit; what you
would be committing if you run "git commit" without "-a" option.
<3> Changes in the working tree since your last commit; what you
would be committing if you run "git commit -a"
Comparing with arbitrary commits::
+
------------
$ git diff test <1>
$ git diff HEAD -- ./test <2>
$ git diff HEAD^ HEAD <3>
------------
+
<1> Instead of using the tip of the current branch, compare with the
tip of "test" branch.
<2> Instead of comparing with the tip of "test" branch, compare with
the tip of the current branch, but limit the comparison to the
file "test".
<3> Compare the version before the last commit and the last commit.
Comparing branches::
+
------------
$ git diff topic master <1>
$ git diff topic..master <2>
$ git diff topic...master <3>
------------
+
<1> Changes between the tips of the topic and the master branches.
<2> Same as above.
<3> Changes that occurred on the master branch since when the topic
branch was started off it.
Limiting the diff output::
+
------------
$ git diff --diff-filter=MRC <1>
$ git diff --name-status <2>
$ git diff arch/i386 include/asm-i386 <3>
------------
+
<1> Show only modification, rename and copy, but not addition
nor deletion.
<2> Show only names and the nature of change, but not actual
diff output.
<3> Limit diff output to named subtrees.
Munging the diff output::
+
------------
$ git diff --find-copies-harder -B -C <1>
$ git diff -R <2>
------------
+
<1> Spend extra cycles to find renames, copies and complete
rewrites (very expensive).
<2> Output diff in reverse.
SEE ALSO
--------
diff(1),
linkgit:git-difftool[1],
linkgit:git-log[1],
linkgit:gitdiffcore[7],
linkgit:git-format-patch[1],
linkgit:git-apply[1]
GIT
---
Part of the linkgit:git[1] suite